Between the time of 1571 and 1862 saw the rise and fall of sailing ships used for combat, exploration and trade. It was during the battle of Lepanto in 1571 that saw the last major use of oar based galleys in battle, and it was during the battle of Hampton Roads in 1862 that saw Iron clad steam powered boat the CSS Virginia destroy both the USS Congress and the USS Cumberland.
Before this time sailing ships were used frequently in exploration and shipping but it was only until 1571 that they were considered wholly superior in combat as well as trade and exploration. It was the same occurrence after 1862, where steam powered ships where vastly superior in combat to the sailing ships, the sailing ships were still frequently used in trade and mercantile. Throughout almost 300 years, these ships advanced and were used to control the water.
Most common and some of the best ships designed during this time were:
Bark (Barque)
Barquentine
Bilander
Brig
Brigatine
Caravel
Carrack
Clipper
Cog
Corvette
Cutter
Frigate
Fluyt
Galleon
Man of War
Schooner
Ship of the Line
Xebec
Creating these enormous ships was a monumental task. One of the best ships created was the HMS Victory. A 104 gun First rate full-rigged ship of the line created for the Royal Navy, the Victory was the flagship of Lord Admiral Nelson during the battle of Trafalgar. This ship was key to his victory at this battle. But creating it was not an easy task.
6,000 trees were used in the construction of this ship, 90% of the wood was Oak. Oak from Surrey, Kent, Hampshire or Sussex was the preferred wood to build ships, though when unavailable Long leaf pine, Georgia pine pine or yellow pine was used. It took a crew of 150 workers 6 years to complete to build this ship. Because of the use of such valuable wood and the time it took, the HMS Victory cost an astounding 63,176, the equivalent of 7.79 million today.
Because Oak was so valuable, trees were manipulated during growth so that the nooks, crevices and forks would be able to be used while they formed the pieces that would be used for the ships.
Many different tools were used during the creation of such wonderful ships. The most common of these tools were:
Adze: A shipwright’s tool, similar to an axe, used for shaping and dressing wood. It was different from an axe in that it had a long slender curved blade set at a right angle to the handle.
Auger: A shipwright’s tool for drilling holes in timbers.
Axe: A shipwright’s tool, the shipwright’s axe came in a variety of shapes. The shape of the blade depended on the function of the axe. The edge of the blade was either straight or curved, most were curved; The angle of the blade also varied depending whether hard or softer wood was to be cut, a thinner blade was required for the hardest woods. A typical size would be a 1.4″ thick blade, a blade height of 4.1″ and a blade length of 7.4″
Beetle: A shipbuilding tool. A heavy iron mallet used to drive wedges (irons) into the seams of wooden ships to open them before caulking.
Caulking Mallet: A shipbuilding tool. An iron or wooden mallet (heavy hammer) used to strike a variety of irons, to open and close seams or to fill seams with oakum.
Drawing Knife: A shipbuilding tool with a long and slender sharp-edged blade and two handles, one on each end. It was used to draw material away from the piece to be worked on.
Horsing Iron: A shipbuilding tool. A caulking iron used when caulking deck seams.
Jerry Iron: A shipbuilding tool. An iron tool used for extracting old oakum from seams. Also called meaking iron.
Nog: A wooden treenail or pin used in shipbuilding.
Oker: Red chalk used by shipwrights to mark timber.
Pitch Ladle: An iron ladle used to pour boiling tar into deck seams to seal and make them watertight.
Racing Knife A shipwright’s tool to mark or race the shape to be cut, often to mark or score the shape of a mould onto a piece of timber
Reeming Iron: A shipbuilding tool. An iron wedge used to open up seams before caulking.
Sail Iron: A sailmaking tool. A wooden iron used to close and flatten the seams and stitching of sails.
Wrung Staff: A shipwright’s tool used in attaching the hull planking to the frame timbers. It consisted of a sturdy wooden rod, tapered at both ends. Also called wrain stave. Was used together with ring bolts called wrung- or wrain-bolts, to force the planks closer to their shape and the ship’s frame.
3rd year 